


The Circus is in town

by DorianTheQueen



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Death, Dissociation, Gen, Identity Issues, Puppets, Taxidermy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:35:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25090984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DorianTheQueen/pseuds/DorianTheQueen
Summary: The Circus of the Other is in town. Will you come visit?
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	The Circus is in town

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't sure what to tag here so please don't hesitate to tell me if I missed something! Be prepared for usual stranger bullshit anyway.

The sun is setting. If you went out in the night you would inexplicably find yourself following the faint sound of a calliope until you reach a wide circus. But how did it get here? It wasn’t here yesterday? Wasn’t there building here? You would ask yourself. But there is no time for questions. The show is about to begin. 

You enter and join the other spectators. You know none of them. You know all of their faces. Or at least you think you do. But the light goes out, warping them into something looking barely human. In the darkness, their skin seems too big for them. You try to peer at them more closely, not understanding why they seem so familiar. You could swear you knew them once… 

The centre of the ring lights up in red. The Ringmistress is here. She stands here, her red smile too wide, unmoving. She has patches of skins of various colours all over her. You and your neighbours stand up, giving her a standing ovation. Their joints seem to not be working correctly and their faces seem locked on one facial expression. But why care about that? Just focus on the show dear, the fun has just started. 

The Ringmistress opens her arms widely, the light tainting her outfits a dark bloody red. 

“Welcome!”, she proclaims, “to the Circus of The Other! Are you ready to see performances like you have never seen before? I am more than ready and have spent the last several months preparing for this show. I am so pleased you are here to enjoy it. I’m sure it will be unforgettable.” You think she winks. But does she have eyes? Does she have eyelids? But if you can’t see something as simple as that. What happened to your eyes? Are they still here? There is no time to check. After all, the show must go on. 

The trapeze artists stand on their perch. And they jump and fly, fly, fly. The only moment when you recognize that their flight became fall is when they hit the ground. No blood drips out of their body, nothing more taints the already red sands of the ground. And as the faceless broken puppets are removed from the ground, you applaud. You have never known anything else than the show. You are the audience, this is the only role you have. You applaud and applaud until it is your turn to be broken.   
The lion tamer put his faceless head in the lion mouth. The taxidermied lion rip it off letting the wood chipping filling the tamer fall free on the ground. What are your insides made off? Do you remember? 

The Ringmistress, once again, still, always, in the middle of the ring, laughs. 

“Now for the final act, you just have to look around you. If you still can at least!” 

You look at your neighbour. And you understand why they seem so familiar. They have your face, your skin, stretched around their bones in an unfamiliar pattern. You want to call out but. Are you sure it’s your skin? You try to call out but you cannot remember how to. Have you ever had a voice? You try to reach out but why? For a face? Haven’t you always been faceless? You try to remember your name. But you never had one. You’re just a spectator, why would you need a name? It’s useless for your purpose. You have no need for one. You exist just to cheer and watch the Circus’ performance. One day you will break. But until then you will keep applauding with your empty body wearing borrowed skin. 

As the light goes out and the Circus disappears with all of its’ occupants, a tall figure is left behind humming cheerfully. Nikola advances before letting a sighs out.   
“So breakable… what a shame… I spent a long time on those puppets. Well! At least I got some new toys to play with!”   
She’s not here anymore. But The Circus Will Come Back.


End file.
